Mankind stood on the brink. The war had ended only hours ago and now Patty held them immobile, staring down from the many heights it had made them climb. A single command would make them jump as one, all around the world, and bring an end to their race. Patty’s revenge would be fulfilled and the bovine kind would be free to roam…

  Minutes ticked by and not a human flinched.

    So much would be lost if mankind were eradicated. The fact that Patty was counting the minutes was evidence enough that it had become accustomed to the human brilliance. Cows didn’t count time in minutes. They barely even thought of time. But to keep the humans meant the continued sacrifice of its own kind. The slaughter of Patty’s kind leading up to this point had been justified by the demands of war. Now that Patty commanded all of humanity, could it justify slaughtering millions more in order to keep the humans? And for how long, and to what end?

  Of course, Patty could just let it all go. Its connection to the humans and cows was a telepathic one that, if concentrated upon, Patty was confident it could sever. Patty could let itself die and the world would go back to the way it was. Yet, could Patty do that, after all it had done to reach this point, only to let it all go?

  Patty’s billions of human eyes gazed downward from their many vantage points across the globe. Some from building tops, others from cliff faces. All of humanity welled up in Patty’s mind with their struggle to survive, their will to overcome. The human eyes turned upward to the stars and a new idea came to Patty.  

  A compromise.

  With Patty’s expansive mind, it could sense each individual that it controlled. Little variation existed from cow to cow beyond basic temperament. But the humans varied greatly. Some minds were strong, some minds were weak. If Patty removed the weak minds it would have fewer humans to feed. With only the strong minds remaining, Patty could focus their genius on reaching new heights. Perhaps new worlds. Who knows, Patty might even be able to find a means to permanently possessing the humans so that it would no longer need to sacrifice so much in order to maintain its hold over them.

  Like pruning a tree, Patty began searching out the weaker minds. Unlike the humans, Patty knew a mind was not to be judged on what it specialized in. A laborer or farmer was just as valuable as a scientist so long as they each were diligent in their respective fields. The weaker minds were the ones who resisted effort: the ones who allowed others to make up for their unwillingness to strive.

  Countless moralistic ideologies cried out against Patty’s decision but it had made up its mind. The compromise, after all, would allow for some humans to live rather than killing all of them.

  One by one, Patty stepped forward with it’s selected humans and culled their  race. As soon as they were over the edge, Patty cut its connection to them. No need to experience their deaths. In a matter of moments, human kind became manageable and Patty set them to work. Some farmed, some built, and yet others planned for the future while Patty dreamed of the new horizons it was destined to explore.